Executive assistant who accused Cuomo of groping her says he must be 'held accountable'

Brittany Commisso, one of the women who has accused New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) of sexual harassment, is publicly sharing her story for the first time, telling CBS This Morning that Cuomo "needs to be held accountable."
Last week, the New York attorney general's office released a report detailing allegations of sexual harassment made against Cuomo by 11 women, and stated that he was in violation of federal and state law. In the report, Commisso, referred to as "Executive Assistant No. 1," accused Cuomo of grabbing her multiple times and forcing her into "close and intimate hugs." The governor has denied any wrongdoing.
Commisso told CBS This Morning that what Cuomo "did to me was a crime," adding, "He broke the law." Her allegations are the first ones detailed in the attorney general's report, and she believes that is "due to the nature of the inappropriate conduct that the governor did to me," she told CBS. "I believe that he groped me, he touched me, not only once, but twice." Commisso said it started with hugs and "kisses on the cheek. Then there was at one point a hug, and then when he went to go kiss me on the cheek, he'd quickly turn his head and he kissed me on the lips."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The governor's mansion is surrounded by state troopers, and Commisso said they "are not there to protect me" but rather Cuomo, and that is why she didn't come forward with her accusations earlier. "I felt as though if I did something to insult him, especially insult him in his own home, it wasn't going to be him that was going to be fired or in trouble," she added. "It was going to be me."
Commisso has also filed a criminal complaint against Cuomo, triggering an investigation by the Albany County Sheriff. Her full interview with CBS This Morning will air on Monday.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Storm warning
Feature The U.S. is headed for an intense hurricane season. Will a shrunken FEMA and NOAA be able to respond?
-
U.S. v. Skrmetti: Did the trans rights movement overreach?
Feature The Supreme Court upholds a Tennessee law that bans transgender care for minors, dealing a blow to trans rights
-
How would the Trump administration denaturalize immigrant citizens?
Today's Big Question Using civil courts lowers the burden of proof
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump